The conflict cannot really be seen in terms of the conventional
dichotomy of protagonist-antagonist. Here, both the Trojans and
the Greeks seem equal losers. Both sides have negative shades to
them. The Greeks are presented as scheming, conniving and
indulging in petty politics. Their best warriors are proud and
arrogant. The Trojans, who are on the whole, presented more
sympathetically, but they too have their shortcomings. Their
greatest warrior, Hector, is naive and shown to be swayed by
specious arguments. To top it all, the prize for which the two sides
are engaged in such a bloody conflict is revealed to be one of little
worth. Not only does the audience see the ultimate lack of worth
of Helen, even the Greeks and the Trojans know and repeatedly
say that she doesn’t amount to much. If the play is seen in terms
of a conventional conflict, one can see the Trojan-Greek War
embodied in the Paris-Helen-Menelaus tussle replicated in the
Diomedes-Cressida-Troilus triangle of the ‘love’ plot. But there is
no fight between good and evil, there are no heroes or villains -
both sides are pitiably unimpressive.

Climax

Most would contend that the play has two climaxes in keeping
with the double plot. The climax of the ‘love’ plot comes with
Cressida’s betrayal of Troilus in Act V, Scene 2, while that of the
War story comes when Hector is slaughtered by Achilles and his
Myrmidons in Scene 8 of the same act.

Your browser does not support the IFRAME tag.

Outcome

Cressida’s dalliance with Diomedes, which is witnessed by
Troilus, serves to fuel his disillusionment and change his
character. At the end of the play, the audience gets to see a
hardened Troilus, who has lost faith in both love and the War.
From the soft young man given to breaking into cliched poetry, he
becomes the ruthless warrior who doesn’t even believe in the
worth of what he’s fighting for. From the lovesick Petrarchan
lover, he becomes the livid rejecter of love missives.

Hector’s death in Act V, Scene 8 has more consequence for the
Trojans and for the War as a whole, than Troilus’ transformation.
At the moment of death Hector who pleads with the murderous
Achilles to forego his vantage, exposes himself as truly naive. His
naiveté is irresponsible because it leads to his death and what will
be certain decimation of the Trojan side. Hector’s fault is great -
he suffers from a kind of blindness that cannot be forgiven in
warrior of his stature. Because of his naive belief in a code of
honor that is clearly disdained by Achilles, and his disregard for
his own person, which he ought to have known was of great value
to the Trojans, he fails them and brings about their ultimate
destruction.